Was Vittorio Missoni Kidnapped?

A text message received by the son of Guido Foresti, one of the men on board Vittorio Missoni's missing plane, has led investigators to believe that their disappearance may actually have been a hijacking. On Sunday evening, Foresti's son received a message saying, "Call now, we are reachable," but no one has been able to reach Foresti's phone. Investigators are now looking for signs that the four were taken hostage.

This has renewed the Missoni family's hope that Vittorio and his traveling companions are indeed alive. "It's better to be kidnapped than at the bottom of the sea," said Vittorio's sister Angela on Monday. "We hope all four are alive and well. We also hope that the searches go in all directions."

Vittorio had been vacationing with his wife Maurizia Castiglioni and two other couples in the Venezuelan islands of Los Roques. Vittorio, Castiglioni, Guido Foresti and Foresti's wife Elda Scalvenzi were on board the plane with two Venezuelan crew members. The other two people on vacation, Scalvenzi's brother Giuseppe and his wife Rosa Apostoli, were believed by some to have been kidnapped, but the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported that they made it to Milan safely on Sunday.